UK roads and services contractor Amey is being put up for sale as parent company Ferrovial, the Spanish infrastructure group that is also a part owner of Heathrow, is looking to sell its global support services division.

A statement from Ferrovial said: 'The company has entrusted an external consultant to explore the potential divestment of all or part of the assets of the services division of which Ferrovial owns directly or indirectly.'

Amey has been rocked by several dramatic setbacks recently, notably the massive loss of a long-running legal battle over its 25-year Birmingham PFI deal, which saw it set aside £208m to cover possible costs.

However things had just started to pick up for Amey in the roads sector, with the company securing major contracts from Highways England Area 10 worth a combined £375m as well as a place on Highways England's Regional Delivery Partnership framework.

Reports The Financial Times reports that investment bank Goldman Sachs has been appointed to handle the sale of Ferrovial's services business.

The company is said to want to narrow its focus to transport infrastructure, including its profitable toll roads business in North America, where it registered a 'strong performance' in its statement to stock exchanges in May.

Correction: This article initially incorrectly attributed a £48m loss on an M8 improvement scheme to Amey, when in fact this was its parent company Ferrovial's contract. Transport Network apologises.